Cambridge, Maryland (CNN) – A snowstorm Thursday prompted the White House to call off a keynote speech by Vice President Joe Biden at the House Democrats' policy retreat, and President Obama could get the cold shoulder from lawmakers during his planned visit Friday - at least on one pending trade issue.

The President wants Congress to give him fast track trade authority, which would make it easier for him to negotiate major trade deals, by limiting congressional input to a yes/no vote on a final bill.FULL POST

Republican Rep. Peter King said Friday that his Republican colleague in the Senate, Ted Cruz, "is a fraud" who will "no longer have any influence in the Republican Party" after the House votes on a measure that could potentially lead to a government shutdown.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - House Republicans continued to demand answers Wednesday on the Benghazi attack, one day the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee issued a congressional subpoena to current and former State Department officials over the issue.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 15 members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee demanded to know what actions were taken against four people Kerry had testified would face consequences for failing to protect Chris Stevens, the ambassador to Libya, and others at the U.S. mission in Benghazi,FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee admitted sending out a flashy tweet this week hoping reporters would fall for a ruse to help generate publicity for his home district. But he also raised more questions about his original motivations.

Cohen told reporters Friday he was retaliating against what he called "gotcha journalism" and that they should have been more careful two months ago treating a story about his daughter.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Prosecutors are offering a plea bargain to Floyd Corkins, the man accused in the August shooting of a building manager at the conservative Family Research Council. But a defense attorney declined at a hearing Monday to immediately accept the deal and was granted a continuance in the case.

The proposal includes admitting guilt to three of 10 counts in a federal indictment, including a charge of Committing an Act of Terrorism, which has never been prosecuted in the 10 years since the law was passed by the District of Columbia.

Washington (CNN) - The official Christmas tree of the U.S. Capitol arrived Monday and will be illuminated at a ceremony on December 4.

Dozens of tourists, Capitol Hill staffers and news crews watched the tree's arrival along with Stephen Ayers, the Capitol architect. "My job is to officially accept the Capitol Christmas Tree on behalf of the Congress," he said.

Washington (CNN) - Sen. Susan Collins, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, joined other lawmakers Tuesday in expressing concern about how much time had passed before the FBI got word out that former CIA Director David Petraeus was associated with an FBI investigation.

Meeting with reporters after a private meeting with Maine's senator-elect Angus King, Collins said "It does seem like there was an inordinate amount of time that passed. But we really don't have facts yet to reach any kind of conclusion."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - About 20 demonstrators with the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) gathered outside a hotel where GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney planned fundraising remarks Thursday and used Etch A Sketch toys recently mentioned by the Romney campaign as part of their protest.

Senior Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom suggested on CNN's "Starting Point" Wednesday that a post-nomination Romney candidate could reset his campaign "almost like an Etch-a-Sketch – you can kind of shake it up, and we start all over again."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - A Republican congressman who unexpectedly participated in President Obama's health care speech in 2009 by heckling the chief executive says he will be flanked by two Democrats on Tuesday night to show his willingness to work with the opposition party.

Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina shouted "You lie!" during the president's address on health care in September 2009. The chief executive had just denied that illegal immigrants were covered in his proposed health care plan.